Anyone work for Royalmail

dragonfly2008

I've come across this job which i'm thinking of applying for.

Royal Mail are now recruiting Mail Sorters. If you have the flexibility to undertake several different tasks during your shift, can work to tight deadlines and would enjoy working in a loud and busy environment, then you are the type of person we re looking for. This role involves standing for long periods of time, sorting mail either by machine or by hand. Your main role will be segregating the mail and bundling it into bags, so it can be delivered to the proper addresses. You must be able to lift and carry mailbags and boxes weighing up to 11kg and push containers weighing 250kg. We require you to be flexible and adaptable as you are likely to undertake several different tasks in one shift. Please note, once our maximum number of applications has been reached, this vacancy will be withdrawn.
Wage
£7.82 PER HOUR AT AGE OF 18

Job is part time, 5.45 -10pm (normal hours). Firstly, it says 7.82 on the advert, but on the site it says part time are pro rata. If its pro rata it doesn't work out at anything like 7.82 per hour, not until i've been with the company nearly a year anyway. ?

'You need to be flexible etc'
I've got visions of ALOT of people having time off all the time and being expected to cover rediclous times. And having to do a lot of work i won't get paid for. ?

'Expected to undertake several duites during shift' Like what, i'll be employed to sort mail wont i, what else will they have me doing. ?

Answers to the 3 questions, advice, people with personel experiance of working for them etc please

custardy

i assume this is a mail centre,as such there are many different depts witihn the mail centre so you could be on various dutys within your shift
fairly mind numbing duties in the most tbh
its standard RM practice to have ot work a full year before reaching full pay rates(no sick pay for a year either)
you should never be doing work without being paid for it
most mail centres are fairly rigid in their working practices tbh

dragonfly2008

custardy wrote: »

i assume this is a mail centre,as such there are many different depts witihn the mail centre so you could be on various dutys within your shift
fairly mind numbing duties in the most tbh
its standard RM practice to have ot work a full year before reaching full pay rates(no sick pay for a year either)
you should never be doing work without being paid for it
most mail centres are fairly rigid in their working practices tbh

It says normal working hours 5.45-10. From your experience, will they be the hours i work more often or not, or will i be regularly be expected to stay few hours extra and that. And what’s the likelihood of being asked to work say 2am-6am or something ?

thanks, sorry for being a bit of a pain in the !!!!

custardy

well its tricky to answer tbh as mail centres can vary dependent on location ad other factors
you would really need to ask at interview however i dont see your shift varying that much

loofer

Flexibility is like you would expect in any other workplace - except it seems to be a new concept in Royal Mail (you would be surprised at the existing work culture/practices).
Up until a recently, a person whose job it was to push yorks may have refused to sort mail because "it wasn't their job". All part of the pay deal now.

In any given shift you may work on machinery (only after being trained). That could involve loading mail onto the machine or working at the other end taking it off.

You could be pushing yorkies (cages on wheels like you may see in Supermarkets) around transporting the mail from one section to another. These can weigh upto 250kg but it's not too difficult.

You could be cutting open bags and tipping the contents (mail/packets).

You could be sorting mail by hand on a frame for different regions of the country or indeed the local postcode(s) it serves.

You could be loading these 11kg sacks of mail onto these yorks ready for their next journey onwards.

1700-2230 is the busiest time in the Mail Centre and volumes can double leading upto christmas.

You may be asked to stay upto 30mins after the contracted finish time but this would be a request though you are expected to be felxible. You would either be paid the extra 30mins in o/time or allowed to go home 30 mins early on any other agreed day of that week.

You should check if it is a Xmas Temp role or permanent. You may also be eligible for a shift allowance

My opinion: it's unlikely you would get £7.82/hr in any other insdustry for similar unskilled/physical labour.


Hope that helps.